Intro:

I have always been a fan of side scroller games, whether it be modern classics such as Rayman Legends, or Guacamelee, or maybe even BroForce, or retro classics such as Super Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog, and fortunately enough side scrollers seem to come in many flavours and styles. And although I do like the sort of ‘all-out’ action of say Guacamelee, or the ‘super-speedy’ action of Sonic the Hedgehog, I was pleasantly delighted when I came across this side scroller “Rupert and Riley Shipwrecked” because it has some elements in it which are original and provide a new sense of play in the side scroller genre (read on for more 🙂 ).

In a Nutshell:

“Rupert and Riley Shipwrecked” is a very delightful side scroller. Although ‘on the cover’ it looks sort of plain, suprisingly enough this game comes with enough ‘extra’ mechanics to make it unique. Whether it be the excitement of buying powerups (don’t worry, bought with in-game earned money, not ‘real’ money), or making sure you catch the fish that you need to get (and making sure its in the right order), or the good-ol’ classic gameplay of boss levels and shoot-em up action, I found Rupert and Riley to be a lot more than what it initially appears to be.

Read on below and I will discuss the various neat features in more detail.

Swimming Side Scroller:

To begin with, Rupert and Riley is a ‘swimming’ side scroller. And this makes things interesting! You have to carefully maneuver Rupert around the water (whether it be by keyboard control of joystick control) and guide her through each level, collecting fish required to win the level, and shooting enemies that happen to be in the way. My first thoughts of this element of Rupert and Riley were quite positive – I truly enjoyed making sure I properly guided the character along, swimming the waters with ‘grace and speed’ in order to win each level.

Fish Collecting:

Fish collecting is sort of a mechanic belonging solely to Rupert and Riley itself (BTW, as an FYI since I haven’t mentioned it yet, Riley is the dog and Rupert is the cat swimming in the water). The bulk of the levels require the player to collect fish (and feed them to your friend Riley) on each level. And you have to make sure you collect the right fish too – there is a sequential order at the top of the screen showing you which fish to collect (distinguished by the unique color of each fish), and you have to make sure you collect these fish in the order displayed. If you do not, you will not win the level! This makes for a unique collectible experience while playing Rupert and Riley.

Boss Levels:

Rupert and Riley has boss levels! And they can tricky. You have to discover the right pattern to each boss level and fight back accordingly. Make sure you have a good handle on Rupert when you are taking these guys on. Oh, and consider buying a power-up or two to help (read below).

Power-ups:

Because Rupert and Riley levels can be rather challenging, you will want to take advantage of the power-ups that you can buy (with in-game currency) before each level to help you along the way. Some of the powerups you can get include ‘Shield Bubble’ which “surrounds Rupert with a shield that absorbs 50% of all damage” and ‘Oxygen Refill’ which “Restores 50% of Rupert’s oxygen tank”.

Hidden Levels, Bonus score items, and more:

To sum up the other features of Rupert and Riley, it includes finding ‘bonuses’, such as hidden levels, bonus score levels, bonus score items you can collect, and more. You will find these along the way, and you may be enticed to try and discover all the hidden levels, etc after you finish playing Rupert and Riley and have completed all the levels.

Conclusion:

Rupert and Riley is a fun and enjoyable ‘swimming’ side scroller, with lots of original gameplay and gimmicks to make it interesting, and all the while providing a nice challenge for the player to overcome and be proud of!

The good things:

• Solid, and original, side scroller game
• Underwater action with both collecting elements and shooter elements
• Power-ups and special items you can buy (with in-game money, not real money)
• Lots of bonuses items and levels

The bad things:

• The boss fights can be somewhat challenging (but if you can figure out their patterns they are easy 😉 )

Outro:

Rupert and Riley are stuck in the waters, and they need your help! Follow them through the levels of “Shipwrecked Island” and “TigerBlast Island” and more, and help save them and become best of friends with these two adorable cartoon characters along the way.

Happy Gaming!

Written by ZdoctorZ

 

 

Rupert and Riley Shipwrecked

Published by: MadFrog Studios

Developed by: MadFrog Studios

Platform: Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, SteamOS

Genre: Side Scroller / Arcade

Release Date: May 10, 2019

ESRB Rating: N/A